Report: Apple Edges Samsung To Become Largest Smartphone Maker In US

Last week Apple announced quarterly earnings: $54 billion revenue, $13 billion in profit. Despite their size, investors started dumping the stock, worried that its growth and glory days were over. Then the “Has Apple lost its cool to Samsung?” articles started appearing.

Around the world, Samsung and Android have solidly claimed the top spot in sales. But in the United States, that’s not true. According to Strategy Analytics, Apple is the “number one mobile phone vendor for the first time ever.”

This is based on shipments, a metric I don’t like. However, for Apple, shipments and sales are virtually synonymous. The iPhone 5 was largely responsible for the increased shipments/sales.

Source: Strategy Analytics (1/13)

Strategy Analytics said that Apple shipped 17.7 million phones to Samsung’s 16.8 million in the US in Q4. This toppled Samsung from its perch as the leading mobile phone vendor in the US (since 2008), according to the company. LG was third.

During its earnings call Apple reported selling 47.8 million iPhones in the previous quarter on a global basis.

About The Author

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.